Telephonic communications – Telephone line or system combined with diverse electrical... – Remote control
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-12
2001-11-13
Woo, Stella (Department: 2643)
Telephonic communications
Telephone line or system combined with diverse electrical...
Remote control
C379S355020
Reexamination Certificate
active
06317489
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to access control apparatus and, more particularly, to access control apparatus which are connected to remote locations by a telephone system. Such access control apparatus are generally known as an entry phone system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to such an entry phone apparatus and method in which alphabetical access to resident information is improved.
2. Description of the Related Art
Apartment buildings, office buildings, condominium complexes, gated residential communities, industrial parks and other secured locations often include a locked entrance and a security system for establishing communication between visitors who wish to enter the secured location and persons who are capable of unlocking the entrance from a remote location. One type of security system uses existing telephone systems to establish such communication. In such a system, an access control apparatus, or call box, is provided at the entrance. The call box, which includes a keypad and an auto-dialer, is connected to a telephone line and to the entrance lock. A numbered directory of persons, businesses or other parties capable of unlocking the entrance is provided by the call box itself or on a sign located adjacent to the call box. When the visitor enters a code number into the call box keypad, the call box automatically dials the telephone number corresponding to the code number. Once the identity of the person who wishes to gain access is established, the called party can unlock the entrance by pressing a predetermined number into the keypad of the called telephone.
One problematic aspect of traditional entry systems relates to finding the code number of a particular party within the directory. Some systems have used a slew switch or other scrolling device to allow a visitor to scan through the directory to find a particular name. This approach is relatively efficient only when the number of occupants is small. However, for a large building with many occupants, scrolling through the directory to find the name of a particular occupant is time consuming. In a busy complex with a high volume of people attempting to enter via the phone entry system, time delays at the entry system hinder the flow of entry and cause build-ups of people at the entrance.
Further, conventional entry phones which have an alphabetical (i.e., sequential) list of residents names and phone codes, generally require a visitor to scan through the alphabetical entries sequentially, and do not provide for a visitor to scan from “B” to “Y”, for example, by going backwards though the list through “A”, and then through “Z” to reach “Y”. That is, the list is closed-ended at each end of the alphabet. Thus, visitors are required to spend an increased amount of time scanning through such a list presentation before they are able to find the entry for the resident they wish to contact.
An additional disadvantage of conventional entry phones is the large size of the display which must be used in order to display a number of resident names and dialing codes. These large size displays increase the initial cost of the entry phone device, and also have disadvantages including increased vulnerability to vandalism, increased heat dissipation, increased power supply requirements, greater susceptibility to high temperatures, and increased maintenance requirements. Also, the problem of providing shading from sunlight (which can obscure the display when it reflects toward a user) is greater with a large display. Housings for the conventional entry phones also must be larger to accommodate the large conventional displays.
Accordingly, a need exists for an access control apparatus that increases the speed in which a visitor can locate the name of a building occupant in an electronic directory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A general object of the present invention is to provide an access control method and apparatus that is superior to those presently known in the art. In particular, one object of the present invention is to provide an access control method and apparatus that allows a visitor to find the name of an occupant in an electronic entry-system directory more quickly than in present systems.
These and other objectives are accomplished in one embodiment of the present invention by providing an access control apparatus comprising an encoder. The visitor sets the encoder in a position corresponding to a particular letter in the alphabet. The encoder provides a code to a microprocessor indicating which alphabetical character in the directory the visitor wants to see. The system displays an entry in the electronic display corresponding to the letter of the alphabet that the visitor has selected. Ordinarily, this displayed entry (or entries) will be the first one(s) in that portion of the of the alphabetical directory having names starting with the letter the visitor has selected by use of an input to the encoder. The visitor can then use a scrolling device to scroll through that section or adjacent sections of the directory to find the particular name and associated telephone code for which he or she is looking.
These and other objectives are accomplished in another embodiment of the present invention by providing an access control apparatus comprising a pair of slew switches and a display of the characters of the alphabet with one character indicated for display of the corresponding section of the alphabetical resident list. The visitor uses the slew switches to indicate the alphabetical character with which the last name of the selected resident starts. Then the display will show the corresponding section of the alphabetical list, and the visitor uses slew switches to scan through the list until the selected resident's name is located.
Yet another feature of the present access control apparatus and method is an indicator pointing to a particular displayed resident name. The name being indicated can be changed by a visitor by scanning through the names of residents using the slew switches. When the selected resident's name is indicated, the visitor can dial the indicated code number to ring that residents name in order to request entry to the apartment complex, for example. Alternatively, the visitor can push a single “Call” button associated with the indicator of the display, and the access control apparatus will automatically extract that resident's calling code from the stored list and ring the resident's telephone. In this way, further time savings are realized by the present access control apparatus and method.
It is seen in view of the above, that a visitor can locate a particular occupant's name and corresponding code more quickly with the present invention than with existing systems, particularly in large complexes having many occupants listed in the electronic directory. The visitor can alternatively ring the resident's telephone without having to dial in a code number if a single-button “Call” feature is provided. The visitor can begin scrolling through the directory at a particular letter of the alphabet, rather than at the first entry in the directory. Further, the visitor is not blocked from scanning past the end of the alphabet (i.e., beyond “Z”, or backward from “A”) because a “circular” or “closed loop” configuration of the alphabetical residents list is provided. Thus, the visitor can save time if, for example, “B” is being displayed when the visitor arrives and the visitor wishes to call a resident with a last name starting with the letter “U”. In this case, rather than scanning entirely through the alphabet from “B” to “U” (separated by 18 other characters) as conventional access control systems require, the visitor will scan backward from “B” through “A-Z-Y-X-W-V” and to “U”. Further, the visitor can scan past entire sections of the alphabetical list without having these sections shown on the display. That is, the visitor uses slew switches to move an indicator along the A-B-C display from “B”
Elite Access Systems, Inc.
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP
Woo Stella
LandOfFree
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